March Wines

April 9, 2018

Richard Moore

Wine of the Month

Being that March was fully in Lent and I gave up buying wine (not drinking) for Lent we did not drink a lot of new wines. We did manage to drink down the cellar to the point that there are many empty slots to fill!!! The wine of the month was a real surprise as I did not even know I had any bottles left. Always nice to have a pleasant surprise like that once and awhile.

Havens 2012 Bourriquot Oakville Napa Valley Red (16.99 WTSO)

Wow, a random grab from the cellar and what a wonderful wine. Wine notes: "complex blend of aromas: cherries, blackberries, plums, cedar and vanilla. The flavors continue with rich fruit characters of cranberry, red cherry, blueberry and barrel spice. This is a well balanced wine with moderate tannins and good acidity that lingers long on the palate." I would say this is a very good description of the wine. A complex wine that dances in your mouth and has many layers and phases. Although this is a WTSO special, I would definitely grab more bottles if I can. Will have to see if I have any more bottles left in my cellar from the four I bought.

Super Tuscan Red Blend 2010 Tenuta di Ceppaiano 'Violetta' (13.99 WTSO)

Tart and dusty on the nose. Starts a bit jammy and fruity in the mouth but quickly develops a quite bit of spice and tongue coating tannins for a long finish that dries the mouth. Light not heavy. Wine notes: "The wine has a dark and intense ruby red color, with a complex nose containing multiple layers of primary fruity aromas, as well as wild roses, cherries, mint, cassis, and licorice. There are secondary aromas of resin, oak, leather and toasted sweet coffee. An intriguing taste mixes sweet flavours of white chocolate, vanilla, and cedar on a buttery bed of oak, verticalized by a gentle acidity. Long finish. Wonderful Sangiovese-Cabernet " It is a complex wine although I am not picking out white chocolate, licorice, mint, or resin. Wonderful is not word for me, more of an okay Sangiovese-Cabernet. Not a wine I would be buying more bottles of.

Borra Vineyards 2014 Syrah 47.5° Gill Creek Ranch, Clements Hills, Lodi Appellation (Gift)

We received this after the Cold Climate Grape Conference here in Minnesota from Borra Vineyards who was an exhibitor at the the conference. It was enjoyed with a dinner of Irish Stew, and all four of us enjoyed it. Maybe not the most complex of wines but an enjoyable wine to drink. Wine notes: “64% Syrah Clone 470, 28% Syrah Clone 877, 4% Mourvèdre, 4% Petite Sirah. This complex Syrah is the perfect expression of our Gill Creek Ranch vineyard, oriented at 47.5˚ from north for optimal, even ripening. Back-to-back normal, warmer vintages, yield characteristic Lodi jamminess with just the right amount of blackberry pie tartness. Perhaps there’s a bit more cedar forest floor sort of earthiness than last year. In any case, it’s silky, rich and hearty with definite heft – almost a meatiness you can bite into. It’s like a supremely satisfying dinner of flame-grilled Filet Mignon, drizzled with a little black cherry reduction sauce. (There’s your ideal pairing, by the way!) The scents, at least at this stage of its long cellar life to come, coalesce around plums, cedar-roasted herbs, cola and those black cherries. 170 cases produced.” Overall a pretty good description of the wine. It is not the hartest of Syrahs but is nice drinking wine with a butteriness to it. My notes also say: light, dry finish, long, delightful in the mouth. Opens up nicely with air. Would I buy some more, not at the $35 list price but would if I could get it under $20.

Bodegas Najerilla Castezo Rioja Reserva 2008 (14.99 WTSO)

A very hardy and robust wine. The aroma makes you feel like you are putting your head in a wine barrell, and for me that is a wonderful start to a glass of wine. In the mouth there is a lot more fruitiness than the aroma indicates. This fruitiness develops into a tongue and mouth coating dryness and chalkiness. You can really experience the oak and the finish is big and long. Leather, cedar, and pepper spice really add to the complexity. Wine notes: “A bold and fragrant Rioja, this offers a lot of ripe fruit flavor without feeling heavy. Instead, it’s sleek and gentle, the finish touching on leather, cranberries and blood oranges, focusing down to a tight, narrow line.” I would agree with the notes for the most part, not sure I was picking up on the blood oranges. For the price it is an amazing wine and a great buy. Might have to let my other bottles age another year and see how it continues to develop.

Salado 2016 Night Flight Chardonnay (20 at Winery)

This is one of the two wineries we visited during our winter trip to Texas. The winery is a very nice setting and people. We were given a tour of the facility and history. The wines we tasted were marginal except I liked this Chardonnay since it was not very minerally. A bit of a split decision in our house, Julie really did not like it and I thought it was okay and drinkable. Seemed to be a bit different (much flatter) than I remember. Here are my impressions as drinking it; Nice aroma a cross between pear and pineapple is the best I can do. Silky and crisp in the mouth. Not bitter or harsh with a little spice in the mouth and finishes with a bit of butterscotch. Light bodied, almost a bit washed out. Wine notes: “100% unoaked Chardonnay from our vineyard in Salado. It’s quite tart and dry” Not much to go on. Not a wine I would get any more of.

Borra Vineyards 2013 Old Vine Barbera (Gift)

Another bottle given to us at the Cold Climate Grape Conference. Not terribly impressed with this wine. For some reason Barbera wines do not seem to sit well with me, they typically seem a bit harsh and not very full bodied. Needs some air to open up. There is some jam, and mouth drying tannins that coat your tongue and leads to a long finish. A bit of a sting on the nose, not a very aromatic wine. Wine notes; “You have to say it’s full-bodied because you can feel a certain weight in your mouth, but this wine of beautiful crimson glides effortlessly through. When you swallow, you get a wave of age-able tannins, then a sweetness that is strawberry/red cherry fruit-driven, not at all sugary. There’s also some definite cola and a tartness - as if from plums – that rides underneath.” Not sure I agree with all their notes, and for me the tartness dominates anything else. Not a wine I would seek out.

Ratings:

Wow, knock my socks off good. A wine to stock up on.

A very good wine, also a wine to stock up on.

A good average wine that is very drinkable, one that I might buy

again.

An okay wine, one I can drink but would not run out to buy any of.

Not worth really drinking, most likely poured out.

keywords: Wine,Wine Tasting, Wine Reviews

description: New wines tasting notes for March of 2018